La Jolla Indians Court Off-Road Vehicles

Much of the 9,000-acre La Jolla Indian Reservation in remote north San Diego County is unforgiving terrain--too hard for digging, too thickly covered with brush or too hilly, as it rises up the base of Palomar Mountain.

“It’s land we can’t use,” said Mitzi Magante, La Jolla Indian chairman. “It’s not suitable for housing. We can’t afford to develop it for housing. The ground is clay and granite and a lot of rocks.”

But Indian leaders have now begun to see the potential for hundreds of thousands of dollars in their dirt, and they are asking the state to size up the reservation, northeast of Valley Center, as an off-road vehicle park.

The La Jolla band of Luiseno Indians on Friday presented its exploratory proposal for an off-road park to the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, a nine-member panel charged with working with the state Parks and Recreation Department to build and maintain trails for four-wheel-drive, three-wheeler and motocross bike enthusiasts.

At the urging of off-road enthusiasts, the commission and department have been trying for years to find about 1,000 acres that can serve as a nearby playground. The state already maintains a large vehicular park in Ocotillo Wells, but the off-roaders say it is not close enough for them to use for only a few hours or during the week after work.

So far, the state has been looking south, to Otay Mesa, for a solution. It has identified a potential 1,200-acre site, 920 acres of which are owned by developer Roque de la Fuente II.

But a deal with De la Fuente--$5 million for the state to take title to the land, only to give it back to him in 20 years--failed to get through the Legislature last year because of the price and the novelty of the arrangements.

Renewed talks with De la Fuente are expected to begin soon, and indications are that the state is looking at paying as much or more for the site, since a recent state audit shows his land is worth $11 million to $12 million, state officials say.

Against that backdrop, the La Jolla Indian proposal--although a surprise--immediately piqued the interest of Off-Highway Commission members, who instructed their staff to look into the idea and requested a tour of the San Diego County reservation before their next meeting in March.

What commission members will find, said Magante, is a band of 300 Indians who are eager to take on a year-round enterprise like an off-road park because of the prospect it will create about 20 full-time jobs. That means a lot to a reservation with an unemployment rate of more than 50%, she said.

“We need year-round enterprises,” said Magante. “Right now, we have three enterprises on the reservation--an 800-unit campground, a general store, and we do have an aquatic water park. But the season for all of them begins in March and ends in October.”

As for the noise, the Indians have some concerns, said Magante. Then again, there may be considerable tolerance since the reservation is already home to the Amago Raceway, which features go-cart and motorcycle events, she said.

Jack Orndoff, an Irvine businessman who first suggested the off-road park to the La Jolla Indians, told the commission in Sacramento on Friday that putting the vehicular playground on tribal lands would be easier and about 25% cheaper than working with a private owner.

In addition, he said its North County location would be convenient for off-roaders in both San Diego and Orange counties. It is 55 minutes from downtown San Diego and 50 minutes from Irvine, he said.

And the thick brush on the land could be seen as an advantage, he said. No off-roader would dare stray from official trails to tangle with the tough mesquite

“We have so much brush up here, they couldn’t tear it up,” Magante said of the reservation. “The brush is so rough that they would be dissuaded from making their own path. They would tear their vehicles and themselves.”

Magante said the band would welcome a response from the state, which would pay for a new off-road riding park from its “green sticker” fund--money collected from the registration of off-road vehicles.

If talks become serious, the entire tribe would have to approve a deal with the state, she said.